The votes are mostly in and Hiral Tipirneni appears to have lost CD-8 in the special election to replace disgraced Congressman Trent Franks by 5.2%… [edit Updated results show the margin of loss at 4.7%! 47.5 to 52.2] (link to maricopa county election results.)
But to AZ Dems this is A BIG WIN! This is a district which was R+21 for Trump last year. Meaning it has shifted 16 points to Dems! Lesko said before the election that she was expecting to win at minimum by “double digits” IE ten points. oops.
Hiral is an awesome candidate, but The Republicans outspent Dems considerably (when you include outside “Dark Money”) — And in this district Dems NEVER run a candidate. Its typically as solid Republican as you get.
The really big news- look at this NYT interactive graphic, and all those beautiful blue arrows. Precincts in CD-8 Blue-shifted between 3% — 31% from 2016! Let me restate that some precincts shifted as much as 31% from Republican to Democratic!
Related national news stories with similar analysis:
- FiveThirtyEight: Another Special Election, Another Really Bad Sign For The GOP
- CNN: Democrats set sights on turning Arizona blue after special election result
-ArizonaCentral: After lackluster showing in election, worried Arizona Republicans search for leadership